Family Medicine

World Book of Family Medicine – European Edition 2015
yearly or more often and that 30% felt that screening should take place every two years. This recommendation is a
direct challenge to the strong message from massive campaigns aimed at women in some countries over the last two
decades advising they undergo yearly screening starting at age 40, and this is also reflected in the results of our study.
Other studies have also found that opportunistic mammography screening in excess of the recommendation is
common and persists despite explicit advice about recommended screening frequency (6).
Health professionals should be conversant with the recommended testing intervals for cardiovascular risk factors and
for cancer screening in order to better educate patients in the judicious use of such tests.
Table. Views of patients regarding the optimal interval for screening for cardiovascular risks factors and cancer, and
for vaccination.
How often do you think
it would be appropriate
to have…,% (95% CI)
Not at all I don't know Yearly or
more often
Every 2
years
Every 3
years
Less often
than every 3
years
Blood pressure check
(n=5085) 1
1.2%
(0.8-1.7)
15.5%
(13.7-19.7)
75.1%
(72.0-78.0)
5.2%
(4.3-6.3)
1.1%
(0.7-1.7)
0.9%
(0.5-1.6)
Blood sugar check
(n=6865) 2
1.1%
(0.8-1.6)
16.7%
(14.5-19.3)
66.0%
(63.3-68.7)
12.4%
(10.9-13.9)
2.3%
(1.7-3.0)
1.5%
(1.1-2.2)
Blood cholesterol check
(n=5805) 3
1.3%
(0.9-1.8)
17.5%
(14.8-20.5)
62.6%
(59.6-65.5)
14.3%
(12.5-16.3)
2.7%
(2.1-3.4)
1.7%
(1.2-2.5)
Flu vaccination (65
years old and over)
(n=928)
14.4%
(10.9-18.7)
15.2%
(11.7-19.5)
67.6%
(61.1-73.5)
2.0%
(1.0-3.7)
0.6%
(0.2-2.4)
0.2%
(0.0-1.1)
Cervical smear test
(only women) (n=4007)
4
1.9%
(1.2-2.8)
8.5%
(7.1-10.3)
58.2%
(54.9-61.5)
23.3%
(20.8-26.0)
5.9%
(4.6-7.6)
2.2%
(1.6-2.9)
Mammogram (only women) (n=3650) 5
30-49 years (n=1919)
1.4%
(0.7-2.8)
14.4%
(12.0-17.1)
43.1%
(38.9-47.4)
29.7%
(26.5-33.3)
6.6%
(5.0-8.7)
4.8%
(3.5-6.5)
50 years or more
(n=1731)
2.8%
(1.7-4.5)
8.2%
(6.2-10.6)
41.7%
(38.3-45.2)
40.6%
(37.1-44.2)
4.5%
(3.2-6.1)
2.3%
(1.5-3.6)
1 Excluding patients diagnosed with high blood pressure
2 Excluding patients diagnosed with high blood glucose
3 Excluding patients diagnosed with high blood cholesterol
4 Excluding women diagnosed with cervical cancer
5 Excluding women diagnosed with breast cancer
Take home messages
A high proportion of patients attending primary care with unhealthy lifestyles
(especially risky drinkers) do not perceive the need to change their habits.
Half the patients reported not having had any discussion on healthy lifestyles with their GPs.
Patients overestimate their need to be screened for cardiovascular risk factors and for cancer.
Further studies are needed to investigate the reasons behind these perceptions so that suitable strategies
may be devised to tackle them.
Health professionals should be conversant with the recommended testing intervals for cardiovascular risk
factors and for screening for cancer in order to better educate patients in the judicious use of such tests.
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